N990BV

Happy 4th of July… Spent 3.5 hours finishing the rudder this morning. Used 3/4″ pipe, cut into the appropriate links, taped into place and rotated with two vise grips. Worked well except the center section which for some reason didn’t close up quite right. Did a second bend and it didn’t do the trick. So, […]

Spent three hours this morning riveting the skin to the rudder structure. Decided not to find the special tools and went forward with blind rivets in the tight spots. Pulled out the fiberglass parts and the top one slid snugly into place, will modify the bottom, as per the plans, and ensure all is in […]

Spent two hours this morning. Removed all internal vinyl, final polishing of parts, cleaned. Put RTV sealant at the stiffner tips, and clecoed the rudder assembly together. You can see the top stiffners in this pic. Looks like a huge glob of RTV but the reflection adds to the effect. Below is a shot from the […]

Fourteen hours over a couple weeks. Worked the rudder web, per directions, had to order a new part to redo holes for sufficient edge clearance. Took my time, long slow process and the temps have been up to and over 100 degrees for much of the past couple weeks limiting workable time in the hanger. […]

Did some work on the lower rudder parts, thought it was great and then noticed that two of the holes were not far enough from the aluminum edges… one of the fabrications was cut using the assumption that the holes put in place by Van’s Aircraft were a guideline as with the previous work on […]

Well, despite storms and incredible winds this past week I was able to finish up the vertical tail, details below. Hey the helmet still fits, a bit loose in fact, my head must be shrinking… that explains a lot!! Camera “person” was a bit off centerline, below.

9 hours work on the vertical stab. Clecoed, drilled, disassembled, deburred, dimpled, finished, primed as required. I’m going to leave the Alclad alone, as best I can, this time. No need to buff off the Alclad and then add primer, the Alclad is meant to be anticorrosive as it is. I’ll prime the exterior skin, […]